Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-07-01
GAT BANK ROBBERY.
Romance or the Metro9oliS Founded
Upon Notes From the Diary
of Inspector Byrnes.
BY JULIAN HAWTHORNE, AUTHOR OF
GARTH" BTC., ETC.
copyrighted, lss7. by o, NJ. Durham.
CHAPTER ",

CHAPTER ".
When the magnitude of the SUM taxed
from the Manhattan Savings Institution
By the mysterious burglars became
known the senss,iUn created was profound
and widespread. Tee great robbery was
the tslk Of New York, aud indeed Of the
whole country. That so vast an amour;
Of money should have been distracted
from the vaults of one IF the Oldest and
best guarded banks in the city, IN broad
:, daylight, and practically in full view Of
s the entire populations: that this should
q have heel done ana 10 trace of any
y OF the perpetrators remain Was &
fact appalling enoughto tr.ghlen the bold
est Bankers. brokers, merchants, Jew
elers and traGesmen asked them
selves seriously whether any Sc
curity was possible against the dia-
Dolicsl cunning and Ingenuity Of trained
burglars. The strongest doors gave way
before them ike n sic. They seemed to
possess the power OF rendering them
selves invisible at will Where and how
w&s security 20 be fouo6? Under these
circumstances, the Efforts of the police 10
capture the Unknown criminals were
watched with no ordinary or transient
interest.
Meanwhile, The head of the detectives
returned to his Office ana committed TO
writing The present results of his inY5Sti-
CATION into the great mystery. There
was certainly small ground Tor encourage.
nent so fsr; but the inspector was one
Of these men who knew how to wait as
well Is to watch After finishing his re-
port, and carefully considering the mat
ter N all i.s bearings, in his mind, he
gave directions TO have all the witnesses
who lad been discovered brought before
him.
Tie drst OF these to appear were the
ianit0r, WerkIe, sud lis wife, and they
were subjected 50 & close cross-question-
ing They tCld Su1stantit lily the same
story Ihal has been already related.
Their testimony developed very little
that was new, and nothing that was both
new end important. But their appeaT-
ance and bearing were such that 1t Was
difficult 10 suppose them capable q
criminal G5ceiT. They we're evidently
persons ui very crdiaary Intelligence, &C
usl0med 10 iOW sphere OF life, and
ytl no ambition TO rise above II, either
0uesly or otherwise. There was ne
ace Il their 14eElng OF desire tC con-
.al ANYTHING: On toe contrary, their
nIenCy 10 pour ouJ words on ell sub
IT'S, both rcieVsu: and irrelevant, had TO
restrsiaeC rather Than encouraged. II
fzct tbat Werkle had been entrusted
the tank officials With responsibilities
such magnitude was strange, it would
2 been Deen still stranger had men
contemplated 3 colossal robbery
81 such feeble person into their con-
nee. Werhle's own story il Short
more inherent probability than any
could be substituted for it. Never
IS, the EeengsL Judge OF character
sometimes be !Iisled, and the In
or did not allow his impression as
WaIhl-e to appear on the surface.
,raSssu upon them the gravity ui
ituaticu, and they departed in the
Vat the IaH had its eye upon them
hi have something further TO say
later on.
ISL, the barber, WAS the next wit
his evidence brought TO light
Two noteworthy points. One o.
S the fact that he was always in
by q quarter before seven, and
MS SuGSGy morning md proved 10
ltion 10 IT, fule Now, as his shop
directly underneath the bank, any
made above was audible to him; he
even able TO distinguish the sound Of
jsnitor's footsteps moving about in
daily morning avOc6tions. But ca
occasion he had heard nothing
ell, or ct all events nothing IN
Ial; and since the process of breaking
safe is something from which
ise, and noise of very noticeable
nd, Is inseparSble, il would seem to
low assuming his story to be true)
st the heavy part of the robbery, at
EAST, must have been accomplished be-
ore ne entered his shop. Werkle's teS-
imony proved, however, that the rob-
lers could hot nave got to work before q
,usrter past at the earliest, and this
eft no more than half an hour or possibly
orty minutes for the operation.
If the burglary had shown evidence of
re professional skill on the burglars
part. the discovery that all the work had
9een done in halt IN hour proved them to
% be conSummate masters of their craft
nd amply sccounted for the fact that
leY mad LETT some eff the safes un-
)uched. Nearly S. coo, GOO in thirty min
seS was an excellent rate of income,
, nd might easily have satisfied so exact
- "a person as 6 New York bank burg
Z. Moreover, the bundles Of bonds AID
cuTities must have seen rather trouble
ne 70 carry, and il was probable that
thieves had loaded themselves TO the
d prudence and could not safely have
aiken away any mole. Indeed 1t was
tAnding marvel that they should have
walked away, unchecked and unseen,
With soimueh.
Another point OF possible Importance
n TIE oarber's testimony was introduced
by sn accidental allusiOn made by him to
the unknown gentleman who had followed
WerkIe down TO his saloon. KOhlman
conld give no exact description of this
stranger, beyond that hewas rather above
the medium size, was of gentlemanly
appearance, and wore large amethyst
ing on his finger. There was
iothing remarkable IN his having entered
iohlman's shop; any one has right to
Walk into barber'S saloon, even IL he
galk out again without profting by the
,arber's professional assistance, and IL
vas quite nstural that this gentleman
hould have been interested in the JAM
oT's story in q purely abstract and I'M
personal way. Nevertheless, every straw
nay have Its value in case so mys-
erious as the present, and the Inspector
made q note OF the man with the amethyst
ing. He might be useful, II for nothing
Use, as witness to confirm the tes.i-
= nonv Of Werk,g sud the barber.
4 The latter was now dismissed, and
couple Of police others were admitted
who had been n the neighboEhood OF the
lark- AZ the time If tho rpl11erV One of